(no subject)

[remindmeofthe]

THE FOLLOWING IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

DISCREET: Subtle, careful, under the radar. She discreetly pushed her bra strap back under her shirt. (Is it possible to do this discreetly? I haven't figured out how. But I digress.)

DISCRETE: Separate and individual. I will steal Merriam-Webster's example because I have way less practice using this in a sentence: There are several discrete sections to this vast medical complex, including a college of pharmacology and a research center.

If you need a trick to remember it, try thinking of the E's in "discrete" being two discrete units, separated as they are by the T.

Please. Stop making this mistake. It's almost as bad as loose/lose, and it is damn embarrassing to see when I know for a fact that the person doing it is too smart to get tripped up by homonyms HOMOPHONES see I'm not perfect either, nothing wrong with that.

That is all.

Comments

[remindmeofthe.livejournal.com]

I have actually seen more than one person on my flist do this. I think it's one of those ones that just tends to mess with people more, for whatever reason.

Plus I totally used "homonym" when I meant "homophone," so obviously I am far from immune to such mistakes. XD

[supervillainess.livejournal.com]

I think in this case, I am less familiar (have had no cause to use) with "discrete." I knew it looked wrong when I was typing, but spell-check didn't flag it, and I couldn't recall it's correct usage so... I LOATHE those sorts of errors. Like, it's just as embarrassing as spinach in yer teeth, skirt in underwear, and toilet paper on your shoe. One of those things your friends should alert you to before you embarrass yourself in public. ;)

My semi-colon usage is horrendous, but I'm still working on that one.

[remindmeofthe.livejournal.com]

it's correct usage

Well, while I'm embarrassing you alerting you to things, I may as well point out that the possessive form of "it" never, ever takes an apostrophe.

But semicolons are hard for everybody, so don't worry about that. *g* I overuse them myself, but then I'm a dork.

I know what you mean about "discrete," though. That's why I had to steal the example instead of making up my own - it doesn't exactly come up in everyday conversation for most people. For a while, I didn't even know what it meant; I just knew it was not the spelling people were looking for. That is probably exactly why it messes with people so much.

[supervillainess.livejournal.com]

D'oh! THAT one, I know better and always type it wrong, regardless. Bad fingers! ;)

I can't even tell you how many times I've referenced The Oatmeal's Guide to Semicolons (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon). It's better than Strunk & White!

[remindmeofthe.livejournal.com]

♥ That was brilliant. Thanks for the link!